Alserkal Arts Foundation, Common Room, Warehouse 51
Agency and autonomy are not mutually dependent. In this talk, curator Maya El Khalil challenges the persistent myth of individual genius, arguing instead that creative agency emerges through our inevitable entanglements with others—both human and environmental.
Drawing from her curatorial experience with artists in the region and globally like Himali Singh Soin, Alaa Tarabzouni and Fahad bin Nayef, she will explore how pioneering practitioners at the intersection of disciplines propel ecological and social justice. The talk suggests that true and meaningful innovation is not the product of isolated brilliance but is instead deeply rooted in complex networks of knowledge, relationships, and collective intelligence.
By examining how local conditions intersect with global systems, this talk highlights that creativity and change can only thrive through conscious engagement and willing entanglement. Rather than striving for impossible autonomy, embracing our interconnectedness may open new possibilities for agency and action.
Date: 15 March, 2025
Time: 6.30 - 8.30PM
Venue: WH51, Alserkal Arts Foundation
A light iftaar will be served.
Biographies
Maya El Khalil is an independent curator and art advisor, based in Oxford, UK. As founding director of Athr Gallery in Jeddah from 2009 - 2016 , she pioneered exhibition approaches and cultural exchange in the absence of local public art institutions, making significant contributions to the establishment and development of a contemporary art scene in Saudi Arabia. For the last decade, she has continued to work with artists, collectors and institutions to develop the identity and ideas that have defined an art scene, participating in multiple artist mentorship programs in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Image:
Image: Daniel Torres, Surfaces (Superficies), film still. Excerpt from From the River (Desde el rio) (76 mins), 2020. As part of Residencia Walden. Commissioned by Prince-Claus Fund and Goethe Institut.